Golf putter head

ABSTRACT

A golf club head includes a body having a central plane, and a front planar face for striking a golf ball. The front planar face is at a negative angle in the range of 4° to 8° to the central plane so that a bottom edge of the front planar face is closer to the central plane than is a top edge of the front planar face. The center of gravity of the head is substantially aligned with the point on the front planar face which is the point of impact of a golf ball. The golf club head further includes attachment means for attaching a shaft to a top portion of the body parallel to the central plane.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to golf clubs, particularly golf putters and moreparticularly the head of a golf putter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Golf club heads have a front face which is used to contact the ball tobe hit, and thus to exchange energy from the club to the ball. For woodsand driving irons the front face is at a positive angle to drive theball upwards, as well as forwards, when hit. The angles vary from clubto club allowing the player to select the desired amount of lift for aparticular shot. Putters, for use close to the hole, generally havelittle or no angle as they are intended to push the ball across theplaying surface without any lift. Some players slightly pull theirputter upwards as its strikes the ball so as to produce top spin andencourage more run on or distance for the same force.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a putter that has a negative angle on thefront face. The front face will normally hit the ball above centre andtherefore may produce top spin on the ball without a need to develop aparticular putting style. Thus, when hitting the ball with the putter inaccordance with this invention, the ball tends to be pushed and rolled,not merely pushed along the playing surface.

Accordingly, a first aspect the present invention consists in a golfclub head comprising a body having a central plane, an attachment meansfor attaching a shaft parallel to the central plane, and a front facefor striking a golf ball, the front face being at a negative angle tothe central plane so that a bottom edge of the front face is closer tothe central plane than is a top edge of the front face and wherein thecentre of gravity of the head is substantially aligned with a point ofthe front face which is the point of impact of a golf ball.

In one form the club head has two opposed front faces, both at equalnegative angles so that the body is in the form of a narrow wedge, thenarrowest end of the wedge facing vertically downward as it strikes theball.

In a second aspect, this invention further consists in a golf club headhaving an attachment means for attaching a shaft thereto and a frontface for striking a golf ball characterised in that within the head isdisposed a cavity which is dimensioned such that the front face isdefined by a relatively thin wall.

In another form, the club head comprises a body having a central plane,an attachment means for attaching a shaft parallel to the central plane,a front face for striking a golf ball, the front face being at anegative angle to the central plane so that a bottom edge of the frontface is closer to the central plane than is a top edge of the front faceand a fully enclosed chamber disposed within the head, which chamber isdimensioned such that the front face is defined by a relatively thinwall and wherein the centre of gravity of the head is substantiallyaligned with a point on the front face which is the point of impact of agolf ball.

It is preferred that the negative angle is in the range 4°-8° it is mostpreferred that it is in the range 5°-7°.

The advantage of the chamber is that it provides a means by which thewalls of the front face may be made relatively thin, of the order of 3-5mm. This thin wall allows a player to achieve a softer sense of contactwith the ball. It also extends the "sweet spot".

Of the putters that are currently available with thin walled strikingfaces, most incorporated a "weighted" sole usually at the back and thelowest point of the club head. This tends to put the club headoff-balance with a hook or slice tendency built-in.

However, the club head of the present invention has a shape which isuniform with the bulk of the weight at the top of the blade.Furthermore, the centre of gravity is substantially in the centre and isaligned with a point on the front face which is the point of impact of agolf ball.

Thus the club head of the present invention is perfectly balanced withno hook or slice tendency.

By way of example only, two embodiments of the invention will now bedescribed with reference to the following drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side on view of a club head in accordance with the inventionstriking a ball;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the club head of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a front view of a second embodiment of the club head.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The club head 1 is similar in some regards to a conventional head of agolf putter. It includes a hollow attachment means 5 into which a clubshaft 2 is adhered or permanently fixed in some alternative manner. Infront view, as shown in FIG. 2, the shaft 2 is at an angle B° to thevertical, the angle being selected according to well known criteria butbeing generally in the order of 20°. From the side view, as shown inFIG. 1, the shaft 2, as well as the attachment means 5, is generallyaxially aligned with a central plane 6 of the head 1.

The club head 1 includes a front face 4 which is adapted to strike aball 3 and to impart a driving force B in order to propel forward theball 3. In the present invention the club head 1 has a negativelyangled, or overhanging, front face 4 which is inclined at an angle A° tothe central plane 6 of the head 1. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.1, the club can be used by both left and right handed players by virtueof it including two such front faces 4, one on either opposite side ofthe club head 1. Both faces are at the same negative angle A° to thecentral plane 6.

Generally the club head 1 strikes the ball 3 at the bottom or lowermostpoint of the substantially circular arc or swing. At this point, byvirtue of the negative angle A between the front face 4 and the centralplane 6, the point of impact between the club head 1 and the ball 3, andthus the point of applying the driving force B, is a distance C abovethe centre-line of the ball 3.

With angle A° equal to 6.5° distance C will be in the order of a fewmillimeters for a standard golf ball.

With this arrangement a generally conventional putter stroke will resultin the ball 3 leaving the head 1 with an initial top spin. For a givenforce this will result in further distance travelled by the ball 3, andfurthermore the ball 3 will have a better tendency of rolling overimperfections in the playing surface.

As with a conventional golf head the corners and edges of the head 1 areslightly radiused although the actual size of the radii is not ofsignificance. Also, the face 4 may be smooth or textured according tothe desires of the manufacturer or the user. The head 1 may be producedfrom any of a number of suitable materials, generally the head 1 may beconstructed lighter in weight than a conventional head, although theweight of the head 1 is also generally at the discretion of themanufacturer or ultimate user of the club.

The club head 10 of the second embodiment of the invention is similar tothe club head 1 of FIGS. 1 and 2, with the exception that the attachmentmeans is not shown. However, in this embodiment, a fully enclosedchamber 13 is disposed within the head such that the walls 12 of theopposed front face 4 are of the order of 3 mm thick.

As in the first embodiment, faces 14 are negatively angled such that theangle E° formed with central plane 16 is equal to 6.5°.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown inthe specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive.

I claim:
 1. A golf club putter including: a golf club head having:a bodyhaving a central plane and a front planar face for striking a golf ball,the front planar face being at a negative angle in the range of 4°-8° tothe central plane so that a bottom edge of the front planar face iscloser to the central plane than is a top edge of the front planar face,and wherein the center of gravity of the head is substantially alignedwith a point on the front planar face which is the point of impact withthe golf ball; said golf club head having a fully enclosed chamberlocated therein, the chamber being symmetrically positioned relative tothe central plane and dimensioned such that the front planar face isdefined by a uniformly, relatively thin wall; a shaft; and attachmentmeans aligned on the central plane for attaching said shaft to a topportion of said body so that said shaft extends upward and generallyparallel to the central plane.
 2. A putter head having:an attachmentmeans aligned on a central plane of the putter head for attaching ashaft thereto; and a body having two opposing front and rear planarfaces each of which is for striking a golf ball; wherein a fullyenclosed chamber is symmetrically located within the head and about thecentral plane, the chamber extending through the head such that the twoplanar faces are each defined by a uniform relatively thin wall, andwherein the two opposing planar faces are both at equal negative anglesin the range of 4°-8° relative to the central plane so that the headforms a wedge with the narrowest end of the wedge facing verticallydownward as the head strikes the golf ball.
 3. A putter head as definedin claim 2, wherein each of the walls is 3-15 mm thick.
 4. A putter headas defined in claim 3, wherein each of the walls is about 3 mm thick.